Simulators

There are a number of Drone related flight simulators on the market today, and it seems new ones are popping up all the time. Below is a list of a few of our favorites along with a few details about why we like them.

Phoenix Flight Sim

One of the very first sims we picked up, this one has a little something for everyone including multi-player mode and training modules. It has been on the market for a number of years and started out catering to the RC Plane and Helicopter market. Phoenix was the first one that we found with actual multirotor models that were based on actual aircraft sold in the real world. This sim is also the most expensive of those that we use (around $150), but it does come with a real Spektrum Controller that adds to it’s value. One downfall of this simulator is that it’s only available on Windows based machines.

After spending years booting our Mac laptops up in Windows just so we could use the flight sim, we were happy to find Heli-X. As you can probably guess, this is a Java based application and as such is cross platform. It works on Windows, OSX & Linux. It uses a standard RC Controller that connects to the computer through a special USB cable that you can find on their website. The nice thing about Heli-X is that it’s based on all single and multi-rotor helicopters, so you don’t get bogged down with a lot of the planes that may not be of interest to you. The developers seem to update the app often and there are new models and flying locations added frequently.

The newest of all the simulators we use, FPV Freerider takes a slightly different approach. It specializes in First Person View (FPV) simulation. This is pretty important with the rise in popularity with FPV Racing and Sport Flying. This application also seems to be developed in Java as it’s available on Windows, OSX, Linux and even Android. Check their website for details on how you can use your own controller to pilot the aircraft. The Android version can only be controlled by a virtual controller on the screen, but it’s a great way to stay in practice, plus it’s free! The desktop versions will cost you $4.99 which is a bargain.